//Sapere Fund 1.0

The Mission

The Sapere Fund supports independent music artists; assisting and equipping them in their professional and personal journeys; and promoting what is “good, true and beautiful for the common good.” Sapere in Latin means “to season” or “to taste,” but also “to know; to be wise and witty.”

The Dream

What do you remember from your youth? Most likely, the contours of your adolescence are defined, in part, by the music you listened to. Whether you were driving your first car, dancing in the gymnasium of your high school, or sitting in your room thinking about the challenges of your friends, family and future, it only takes a few notes of a song until a rush of emotion and memories flood your mind. The songwriters, musicians and performers of today are shaping this generation just as The Beatles, Bob Dylan, James Taylor, U2, Madonna, Michael Jackson and Tupac Shakur defined ours.

A number of Wedgwood members dreamed of a fund, strategically placed, that could identify, encourage, support and nurture the next generations’ songwriters and music artists; a fund that pays attention to both the professional and personal needs that exist in the life of an artist with exceptional talent, work ethic and discernment, yet whose professional career is not yet economically self-sustaining; a fund that would invest in their understanding of the times we are in, while making a practical investment in the needs that they have – from studio time to travel costs – to make them more “commercially viable.”

The Fund

In 2008, the Sapere Fund was launched to support a small cadre of independent music artists, to assist and equip them in their professional and personal journeys, and thereby promote what is “good, true and beautiful for the common good” in the music space. Through the recommendations of Wedgwood Music Sector Liaisons, Charlie Peacock, Isaac Slade and Jon Foreman, a small group of promising artists were indentified who, with a little encouragement and investment, have the potential to create the songs of the next generation. In the end, we were gratefully able to fund twenty-eight bands, as well as underwrite a tour called Ten out of Tenn for a number of Sapere artists. The Sapere fund was capitalized to make “investments” of between $2,500 and $25,000 per artist to assist their professional and personal journey toward culture creation for the common good.

In 2010, Wedgwood Circle will capitalize our second round of The Sapere Fund:
Sapere 2.0

Submission Criteria

Wedgwood Circle Sector Liaisons recommended artists who were unsigned to a major label/record company and are missionally committed to salting the culture through mainstream engagement for potential investment. The artists were required to submit an investment plan detailing how the grant would be spent and it was then approved by the Sector Liaisons and Sapere Fund Advisory Panel.

Investment Strategy

The Sapere Fund aimed to strategically deploy capital in the lives of emerging artists as well as make them professionally viable and personally equipped to succeed in the music marketplace.

Sponsorship

The Fund also underwrote a tour, Ten out of Tenn, for a number of Sapere artists to help them hone their performance skills and develop a community of missional artists.

ROI

Investors in the fund do not receive a financial return on their investment; any returns by the artists will replenish the fund and be used to support a new round of Sapere artists. The investors’ return is of personal and eternal consequence. Investors are:

Updated through emails, online pictures/videos, and/or newsletters
Invited to Sapere artists’ concerts
Invited into conversations with the artists
Invited to participate in additional investment opportunities with artists with a financial ROI

Operations

10% of fund was allocated to management/operations
Fund managed by Wedgwood staff
Artists’ traveling expenses for “vocational discipleship” retreat were allocated from the fund
Investment did not require repayment; however, if artists are commercially successful, they covenanted to reinvest in the fund for future artists

Process

Music Sector Liaisons and/or Sapere Fund Advisory Panel Members proposed a list of potential artists
Group reviewed and “voted” on artists that were both excellent in their craft and had the greatest need for funding
Artists were contacted with opportunity and grant range ($2,500-$25,000/artist) and signed a covenant to invest in the fund when their career financially allows them to do so
Artists were required to submit an “investment plan” detailing:
Career objective (short-term/long-term)
How investment would be spent in a strategic way to achieve objective
How spiritual and worldview development would be pursued and nurtured
An opportunity for “vocational discipleship” was offered to the investees in Fall 2008. This event, known as the Sapere Retreat, gathered receipts of Sapere fund resources and Wedgwood Circle staff and fund investors for discipleship, encouragement and refreshment.
Currently, the sponsoring Sector Liaisons/Advisory Members are available to “mentor” the beneficiaries
“Moments” have been created for the artists to perform, e.g. Wedgwood Circle’s 2007 Investor Conference in San Francisco (The Daylights), Wedgwood Circle’s 2008 Investor Conference in New York City (Sam & Ruby) and Wedgwood Circle’s 2009 Regional Dinner in Dallas, TX (Brooke Waggoner).

Measurements of Success

Success is measured by the artists achieving their short term goals, the excellence of their work product and the viability of their commercial career (i.e. reviews, concerts, etc.).

SAPERE Artists

To view The Sapere Fund Brochure, featuring 2009 artist updates, please click SAPERE 1.0

Aaron Anderson

Aaron Espe

Adjoa Skinner

Andy Davis

Brooke Waggoner

David Wilcox

Dustin Kensrue

Hank Floyd

Isaac Wardell Hymns Project

Katie Chastain

Katie Herzig

Kingston

Matthew Perryman Jones

My Favorite Highway

Nate Yetton

Paper Route

Sam & Ruby

Six Chasing Seven

Sleeping At Last

Ten out of Tenn Tour

Thad Cockrell

The Daylights

The Early Hours

The Epochs

The Honey Trees

The War

Tofer Brown

Tyler James

Will Gray